The Whole Fandamly

Mommy, Baby, Daddy
in all our spandex-clad glory

That's us...the banana my kid is shoving in his mouth is pretty fitting, since we are what we eat - and we're more than a little bit bananas!

Before anyone asks, YES, we do feed our kid...believe it or not, his dad and I were both built like that at his age. We don't expect it to last. We're just hoping that he doesn't come to have the same battle of the bulge that his dad and I do. That green tandem my hubby is straddling is part of our investment in our son's future. At 10 years of age he loves riding the bike (and has already logged at least one >50 mile ride on the "stoker" seat of that bicycle built for 2), so we're doing everything we can to encourage that healthy passion.

Derek, the big guy, is a mechanical engineer by day and a bike geek the rest of the time (he does all the mechanic duties for our rides and is an assistant coach with our local JDRF Ride for the Cure team). It's all his fault that I have now caught the fever, myself. As you can see it's very contagious in our household.

Dane is entering 5th grade and has aspirations to be an Engineer like his dad and uncle, or a professional cyclist in the Tour de France.

In addition to the 3 of us Human-types, we also have 4 felines who are well aware that they outnumber us.

Lola in her favorite napping spot
- the dirty laundry

The eldest is Lola and our only girl kitty. She was born on Halloween of 1993, so she is approaching voting age. If she survives to 18 we are considering throwing a party. For an arthritic and hyperthyroid old cat she really gets around and doesn't take crap from the younger and larger boys furbabies of the house.

Daddy & "Baby"

Erik (named after the Viking and the Monty Python sketch), or Ikky, is our next oldest. He found us in the late Winter of '98...we opened the slider off the deck of the house where we were living and he just strolled on in like he owned the place. He also pretty much instantly velcro'd himself to Derek. We've never seen a needier, clingier cat. he thinks he's a lap dog. His neediness seems to increase with age. If he lives to 20 I think we may need to have an intervention. He definitely has "daddy issues."

Biggus Piggus

Thor is my baby...if you can call a 20# cat a baby. He's a big, dumb, squeaky, gentle giant - the only thing he has in common with his namesake is his size. We're almost certain he has some Persian bloodlines, based upon his size, fur that easily mats, and personality. Piggy is a more fitting name and one he answers to, as well. He was also a rescued stray. When we found him during the Winter of '99 he was half grown and had frostbitten toes. He hasn't had much interest in venturing outdoors, since.

A boy and his cat

Last, but not least, is Chase...aka "Dane's Kitty." Chase found us in the early Fall of '07...chasing Dane on his bike, hence his name (and at 4 years of age he still chases...now it's in the form of ambushing our ankles as we innocently stroll through the house).

Chase may be the smartest cat I've ever lived with. He really and truly adores our son, too. Every night he goes upstairs with us to "help" us put Dane to bed. While Chase can be a willful and sometimes aloof cat in the rest of the house, while in Dane's room he purrs non-stop, bumps heads, nuzzles and writhes all over Dane's pillow. I have a feeling that cat will have a harder time when Dane goes off to college than we will.

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